Omar Marmoush dragged the ball along the floor beyond the reach of Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and all De Bruyne had to do was nudge it into the net. But instead he got far too much power on his strike and rattled the underside of the crossbar.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
City won the match 3-1 to close in on a top-five finish in the Premier League but De Bruyne looked furious with himself for the miss. He was unable to score or provide an assist, but did still manage to match a chance creation record, before coming off late in the match and getting a rousing reception from the fans after 10 trophy-laden years at the club.
WHAT DE BRUYNE SAID
De Bruyne told Sky Sports: "It was terrible, terrible. There are no excuses. My son is going to be very hard on me today. I think life and a career is a journey, with ups and some days, and you have to get through every moment and enjoy it."
DID YOU KNOW?
De Bruyne's wife and three children were seen watching a replay of the chance on a mobile phone from inside the stadium and they were all shaking their heads when they saw it. So too did coach Pep Guardiola and midfielder Rodri, who made his first appearance since tearing his cruciate knee ligament back in September.
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WHAT NEXT FOR DE BRUYNE?
De Bruyne has one final chance to add to his 108 goals and 177 assists for City in the final game of the season at Fulham. De Bruyne will then choose his next destination and he has ruled out playing for City in the FIFA Club World Cup in case he picks up an injury and scuppers his next move. He added: "I want to bring joy to people, play offensive football, be creative and have fun. I think we had a lot of fun in these 10 years, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I think we created something incredible to take this club better than where it was before."